My Dragon King System

Aiden raised his hand and hundreds of identical mana-dampening cuffs materialized in the air before him, floating in neat rows above the gathered mages.

Each team leader stepped forward first and took several from the collection before distributing them among their members.

The cuffs were simple in design with dark metal bands inscribed with suppression runes that would restrict a possessed mage's ability to channel mana once locked around their wrists.

Katherine secured hers to her belt and turned toward her team with a sharp nod while the other groups finished their preparations in silence.

"Remember the plan," Aiden said clearly. "Subdue them quickly, cuff them, and bring them back to the entrance."

Katherine stepped toward the blue portal assigned to her team and without hesitation walked through it.

Piers followed immediately behind her with Kayden and Elena close after him while Laela, Arianna, and Aeris moved through together.

The rest of Ravens Grave and a handful of mages from other guilds who had chosen to join them stepped through one by one until the.

Aiden watched each group disappear into their respective portals, with one avatar each going in with them.

—

Katherine's boots touched solid ground on the other side. She immediately scanned her surroundings while the rest of her team emerged behind her.

The dimension they had entered was strange in a way. The sky above was a dull gray without clouds or a sun.

The ground beneath them was cracked in places with thin fissures running outward in jagged patterns.

There were no trees or grass or any sign of vegetation and the landscape extended flatly into the distance with only occasional rock formations breaking the monotony.

Kayden looked around with a frown pulling at his face. "This place feels dead," he muttered.

Elena stepped closer to him and nodded slowly while her eyes moved across the barren expanse.

Piers walked forward a few paces and crouched down to touch the ground with his palm before standing again.

This was one of those worlds that wasn't exactly structured. Just left like that.

Aiden's avatar remained near the portal entrance and activated Dragon's Sight without speaking.

He sight scanned through dimension in its entirety and within moments he locked onto the precise location where the possessed members of Ravens Grave, and some other affected mages were gathered.

He turned toward Katherine and pointed toward the northwest. "They're about forty kilometers in that direction," he said. "I'll open another portal."

Katherine nodded and signaled her team to get ready. She turned to the avatar and asked, "Can you tell how many of them?"

"About thirteen," the avatar replied. He lifted a hand and opened a second portal in front of them.

Fortunately, the signatures on the other side were only possessed mages. None of them were demon lords.

"Go through," the avatar said. "You will exit near their position."

Katherine quickly estimated the numbers. With her squad behind her, the possessed mages were outnumbered at least two to one. That was good enough.

She stepped into the portal without hesitation, Piers following right behind her. The rest moved through in sequence until only the avatar remained at the entrance, arms crossed, watching the second gate close after them.

On the other side, they emerged several meters from a massive castle surrounded by falling snow.

The structure was far too large for the small handful of possessed humans wandering its corridors and outer paths.

Kayden felt a familiar surge of magic radiating from the castle itself. Katherine and the others paused, staring in mazement at the structure.

Then Kayden spotted it. A figure floated above the highest tower, and he pointed upward. "There."

A scowl formed on his face. He knew that presence. Elian had noticed him as well, and a wicked smile spread across his lips.

With cluster of mages gathered like this, especially with someone as powerful as Laela among them, it was impossible to miss.

The entire castle also was nothing more than Elian's Art Magic, and the caster was already flying toward them at high speed.

"You all go handle the others. This one is mine," Kayden said. Lightning wrapped around his body and in an instant he launched himself toward Elian.

"Kayden wait!" Katherine called out but it was too late.

This was more than just saving them. This was a rematch for Kayden.

"I'll back him up, you guys go!" Arianna said, as she lightened her weight using her mass magic, enough to take flight and join up with Kayden.

The rest of the team advanced immediately.

—

The possessed mages scattered throughout the castle grounds had already sensed the intrusion and were converging toward the entrance.

Piers noticed them first as figures began emerging from different corridors and doorways with their movements.

"Incoming!" he shouted while raising his hand to prepare a spell.

Elena immediately moved beside him with glowing magic circles forming infront of her hands, while Laela and Aeris positioned themselves on either side of the group.

The possessed mages came from multiple directions at once and forced the team to spread their formation wider to cover all angles.

But before anyone could engage, a figure dropped from above like a falling meteor and her sword aimed directly at the center of the group.

Katherine reacted instantly and threw herself forward to intercept the strike.

Their blades met mid-air with a deafening clang that sent a shockwave rippling outward and kicked up dust in a wide circle around them.

Katherine's boots skidded backward across the ground as she absorbed the impact and her eyes locked onto the attacker's face.

It was her sister, Selene.

Her sister's expression was blank and emotionless with those unmistakable black markings running down both sides of her face.

Selene's sword pressed against Katherine's with unrelenting force and her eyes stared forward without recognition.

Katherine gritted her teeth and shoved her sister back with a burst of strength that created enough distance between them.

She turned her head toward Piers without taking her eyes off Selene. "Take the others and go!" she shouted.

Piers hesitated for only a second before nodding sharply. "Understood!"

He immediately gestured for the rest of the team to follow him as they split off toward the corridors where the other possessed mages were emerging.

Katherine rolled her shoulders and adjusted her stance.

"You may be possessed," she began, "but surely you remember that you've never won against me."

Selene said nothing, but raise her sword towards Katherine.

Katherine let go of her red sword. In a fight against Selene, she knew she had to go with her ace.

Which were Her Fists!

In an instant, selene closed the distance with her blade slicing vertically toward Katherine's midsection

Katherine stepped to the side, avoiding the blade slash, while almost simultaneously lunging her right fist toward Selene face.

Selene tilted her head to the side in avoidance, then lifted her body up to give Katherine a roundhouse kick.

Katherine caught her feet with her forearm and shoved her backward hard enough to send her sliding meters across the grojnd.

Selene's boots scraped but she didn't fall and used the momentum to spin and launch forward again.

Her sword came down again vertically. Katherine blocked with her forearm guard and stepped in close, driving her fist into Selene's ribs that caused a sharp crack.

Selene jerked sideways and swung her blade in a wide arc toward Katherine's neck.

Katherine ducked and swept her leg low, and Selene jumped over the sweep, flipping backward through the air before landing smoothly.

The two sisters stared briefly before moving again.

Selene dashed forward again but this time she was channeling her Qi through her sword. Her sword began glowing blue as energy wrapped around the blade and extended its cutting edge.

Katherine whispered, "Fifty-fold boost."

It was her strength magic spell, amplifying her already Qi-enhanced physical power by fifty times.

They collided head-on, Selene's Qi-coated blade meeting Katherine's fist. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, and the ground beneath them cracked and splintered from the force.

Selene shifted back and thrust her blade forward, relying on the Qi-extended edge to reach Katherine's midsection.

At that range, Katherine couldn't evade fully. She instead caught the glowing blade in her right palm instead. It sliced her hand, but her enhanced grip was far too strong for Selene to pull free.

Katherine yanked the sword toward herself, dragging Selene off balance and straight into a brutal headbutt.

Her forehead crashed into Selene's nose, and the impact staggered Selene instantly. She stumbled backward, dazed, with blood running down her face.

A devious grin appeared on Katherine's face, knowing she was claiming the upper hand easily.

Selene who just barely recovered, gritted her clawed teeth in frustration.

Selene shifted into a stance, and Katherine's eyes widened the moment she recognized it.

"Tch." Katherine's earlier grin vanished. "That technique…" she muttered, then raised her voice. "Seventh gate!"

Her Qi burst upward in a violent surge as she crossed her arms over her face, bracing herself and pouring everything into defense.

Selene moved at the same time. While swinging her blade in a horizontal arc, she whispered, "Shippu Senjin."

Instantly, dozens—no, hundredsof slashes carved themselves into the air with crushing force.

They called it the Gale of a Thousand Blades, though in truth, the number of cuts it inflicted was far greater.

The storm of invisible blades ripped through the open corridor. Several cuts appeared across Katherine's body, and the entire stretch of the castle behind her was shredded apart, stone cleaving into fragments before being blasted outward in a violent burst.